Drinking-cup for beverage consumption, and use for tasting champagne

ABSTRACT

A drinking-cup placed on a bottle containing a beverage to be consumed. The drinking-cup has a hollow body pierced by a beverage intake, an air intake, and a mouth, and defined by a wall with an annular cross-section enclosing an axis. A closure wall is arranged obliquely relative to the axis. The air intake and the mouth are in respective connecting zones and form an open angle and a closed angle between the wall having an annular cross-section and the closure wall. The wall with an annular cross-section is a surface of rotation and flares out at some distance from the beverage intake. A mid-plane connecting the air intake to the mouth forms, with the axis, an angle not less than 30 degrees. The cup is particularly applicable to champagne tasting.

[0001] The invention generally relates to the field of accessories forconsumption of beverages, and in particular of sparkling wines andchampagne.

[0002] More precisely, the invention relates to a drinking cup thatallows a beverage to be consumed directly from a container holding it,this cup being intended to be fitted in a removable manner on saidcontainer, and forming a hollow body penetrated by a beverage inletcentered on an axis, an air inlet, and a mouth opening, this hollow bodyhaving a wall with an annular cross section surrounding the axis and aclosing wall, connected to the wall with annular cross section obliquelywith respect to the axis, the air inlet and the mouth opening beingrespectively relatively near and relatively far from the beverage inletin an axial direction, and one or both of the air inlet and the mouthopening being contiguous to the wall to annular cross section and to theclosing wall.

[0003] A drinking cup of this type is described, for example, in thepatent document U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,970.

[0004] More generally, numerous types of end fittings intended tofacilitate beverage consumption are known, as evidenced in particular bythe patent documents FR-2 222 976, CH-649 511, DE-U-299 17 965, DE-30 17789, U.S. Pat. No. 3,085,710, FR-2 657 846, GB-505 207 and DE-26 41 874.

[0005] Two specific problems arise in the design of such end fittingswhen they are intended to allow one to taste sparkling wines orchampagne directly from a container such as a bottle, that is to say,without the use of a glass.

[0006] The first problem relates to the regulation of the knownphenomenon, in the case of champagne, of considerable foam formationproduced by the more or less abrupt manipulation of the bottle.

[0007] In effect, after opening a bottle, the champagne containedtherein, because of the decompression it undergoes, can spontaneouslyform more or less abundant foam, in particular in the event of impact,and can thus produce an overflow of the liquid out of the bottle.

[0008] It is therefore necessary to control this overflow in order tomake possible consumption of the sparkling beverage, such as a spacklingwine or champagne, directly from the container holding it, in particulara bottle, without risk to the consumer or to those around him of beingsprayed with it.

[0009] The second problem relates to the quality of the taste of thebeverage, and in particular of the champagne, in spite of the absence ofa glass.

[0010] In effect, under conventional tasting conditions, not only doesthe act of pouring the champagne into a glass release a part of itsgaseous charge, but also the glass offers the champagne contained in itan open and relatively large volume that fosters regulation of the lossof gas.

[0011] In the case in which champagne is drunk directly from the bottle,it is therefore also necessary to control the formation of foam,generated in particular by the inclination of the bottle, in order toallow its contents to be consumed under satisfactory conditions from thetasting standpoint.

[0012] In this context, the invention aims to propose a drinking cupthat is particularly well suited to consumption of a sparkling beverage,particularly sparkling wine or champagne, and which meets therequirements mentioned in the preceding.

[0013] For this purpose, the drinking cup of the invention, otherwise inaccordance with the generic definition given for it in the preambleabove, is essentially characterized by the fact that the wall withannular cross section is a wall of revolution flaring out at a distancefrom the beverage inlet, and by the fact that a mid-plane joining theair inlet to the mouth opening forms an angle with the axis that is atmost 60 degrees.

[0014] Preferably, the air inlet and the mouth opening are bothcontiguous to the wall to annular cross section and to the closing wall.

[0015] The air inlet and/or the mouth opening can each be formed by aslat made in the closing wall, this slat advantageously being curved andhaving a concavity facing away from the axis.

[0016] In order to increase the effectiveness of control of the spray,the angle formed by the mid-plane joining the air inlet with the mouthopening is preferably between 30 and 60 degrees, and is preferably 50degrees.

[0017] Furthermore, the wall with annular cross section advantageouslyhas a flaring out that decreases with increasing distance from thebeverage inlet, with it being possible for this flaring out to befollowed by a narrowing to form a basin in the wall capable ofcollecting a certain volume of beverage.

[0018] The drinking cup of the invention is advantageously produced atleast partially out of a flexible material, which can be fitted tightlyon the container.

[0019] The drinking cup of the invention is ideally applicable totasting a bottled beverage, in particular champagne, with the beverageinlet of the cup being fitted on the neck of the bottle.

[0020] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emergeclearly from the description of it given in the following, in anindicative and non-limiting way, with reference to the appended drawingsin which:

[0021]FIG. 1 is a view in median axial section of a drinking cupaccording to a first embodiment of the invention, this section beingalong I-I of FIG. 2, and with the cup being represented after havingbeen fitted on a bottle;

[0022]FIG. 2 is an external front view of the cup illustrated in FIG. 1;

[0023]FIG. 3 is an external side view of the cup illustrated in FIGS. 1and 2;

[0024]FIG. 4 is a top view of the cup illustrated in FIG. 1, this cupbeing observed perpendicularly to the mid-plane P marked in FIG. 1;

[0025]FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2, illustrating a drinking cupaccording to a second embodiment of the invention;

[0026]FIG. 6 is a view in median axial section of the cup illustrated inFIG. 5, this section being along VI-VI of FIG. 5, and with the cup beingrepresented after having been fitted on a bottle;

[0027]FIG. 7 is a view in axial section of a cup produced from aflexible material, and which is represented in the process of beingused.

[0028] As stated in the preceding, the drinking cup of the invention isintended to be fitted in a removable manner on bottle B containing abeverage to be consumed, such as champagne, in order to allow thisbeverage to be consumed without a glass, in a controlled manner.

[0029] As shown particularly in FIGS. 1 and 6, this cup 1 takes the formof a hollow body that is penetrated by beverage inlet 10, air inlet 11,and mouth opening 12 which the consumer places in his mouth.

[0030] In use, beverage inlet 10 of the cup is centered on axis ofsymmetry X of bottle B and of its neck G.

[0031] The interior volume of this cup is delimited by wall 2 withannular cross section that surrounds axis X, and by closing wall 3 that,with the exception of air inlet 11 and mouth opening 12, is connected ina sealed manner to wall 2 with annular cross section.

[0032] As shown in particular in FIGS. 1 and 6, closing wall 3 is infact connected to wall 2 with annular cross section according to anoblique angle of incidence with respect to axis X, so that in the planeof these figures, walls 2 and 3 form between them, relatively fartherfrom beverage inlet 10 measured along an axial direction D, a relativelyclosed angle J, and, relatively closer to beverage inlet 10, arelatively open angle K.

[0033] Air inlet 11 is formed in the zone of connection of walls 2 and 3where these walls form between them the open angle K, whereas mouthopening 12 is formed in the zone of connection of walls 2 and 3 wherethese walls form between then the closed angle J.

[0034] According to a first essential aspect of the invention, wall 2with annular cross section is a wall of revolution that flares out somedistance from beverage inlet 10, so that the foam formed by the beveragecoming out of neck G of bottle B can be spent while spreading out.

[0035] According to a second essential aspect of the invention, themid-plane P (FIG. 1) that joins air inlet 11 with mouth opening 12forms, with axis X, an angle A that is at most 60 degrees, therebyopposing expansion of the foam by the presence of a solid screen thatallows it to collapse.

[0036] Even more advantageously, the angle A formed by the mid-plane Pjoining air inlet 11 with mouth opening 12 is between 30 and 60 degrees,and is preferably equal to 50 degrees, this inclined position of plane Ppromoting collapsing of the foam.

[0037] In the preferred embodiment of the invention, air inlet 11 andmouth opening 12 are both contiguous to wall 2 with annular crosssection and to closing wall 3, each of these openings being formed by aslat made in the edge of closing wall 3.

[0038] Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, each of the slats thusforming air inlet 11 and mouth opening 12 is curved, and has a concavityfacing away from axis X.

[0039] As shown furthermore in FIGS. 1 and 6, closing wall 3 can be atleast approximately made up of a portion of a cylinder of large radiusand have a slight concavity facing away from beverage inlet 10.

[0040] The ideal form of the drinking cup is obtained by giving wall 2with annular cross section, at least locally, a flaring that decreasesalong the axial direction D (FIGS. 1, 3 and 6) moving from beverageinlet 10 towards closing wall 3.

[0041] In other words, angle C in FIG. 3, formed by axis X and tangent Tto wall 2 with annular cross section at any point of this wall, becomessmaller as the distance separating this point from beverage inlet 10,measured along axis X, increases.

[0042] Angle C, assumed to be oriented, can even become negative closeto mouth opening 12, the flaring out of the cup being therefore followedby a narrowing, forming a basin in wall 2 capable of collecting acertain volume of beverage.

[0043] The drinking cup of the invention can be made up of one or morematerials, at least one of which can be a thermoplastic polymer, and canbe produced at least partially by molding.

[0044] FIGS. 1 to 6 illustrate in a non-limiting manner the case inwhich walls 2 and 3 are produced out of a material that is rigid at roomtemperature.

[0045] In this case, the cup of the invention preferably has flexiblejoint 4, for example, made from an elastomeric material, making itpossible to fit beverage inlet 10 of the cup tightly on neck G of bottleB.

[0046] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, joint 4 can be in the form of a sleeveso as to surround neck G at least partially, and to penetrate partiallyinto wall 2 with annular cross section (FIG. 1) or to be arranged in itsbase 20 (FIGS. 5 and 6).

[0047] In the latter case, cut-outs 21 are advantageously provided inbase 20 to make elastic deformation of this base and mounting of the cupon neck G possible.

[0048] However, it is also possible to reduce flexible joint 4 to asingle washer resting in a sealed manner on an internal flange such as22 of wall 2, with it being then possible for the cup to be held on neckG by cut-outs such as 21 made in base 20 of wall 2.

[0049] The use of joint 4 can even prove superfluous if themanufacturing tolerances of the bottles used are sufficiently exacting,or if the cup is produced out of a flexible material, for example, outof food-quality polypropylene.

[0050]FIG. 7 illustrates a drinking cup of precisely this type, in theprocess of being used by a consumer.

[0051] As indicated in the preceding, the drinking cup of the inventionis ideally applicable to the tasting of a beverage in bottle B, inparticular champagne. The explanation is the following.

[0052] In a first step, the bottle is uncorked normally, and the cup ofthe invention is attached onto neck G of the bottle. Under normalconditions, there is no untimely production of foam.

[0053] In a second step, the consumer inclines the whole formed by thebottle and the cup and brings the latter to his mouth at the site ofmouth opening 12. At this time, the liquid leaves the bottle and runsover the internal surface of wall 2, and this is also the time duringwhich a large quantity of foam can be produced, which is capable offilling the interior volume of the device and even escaping of throughopening 11 then situated in high position.

[0054] The foam that hits the internal surface of wall 3 breaks up, andthe liquid that forms runs in the direction of mouth opening 12.

[0055] The foam that possibly escaped through opening 11 falls back andbreaks up on the external surface of wall 3, and the liquid which formsruns over this external surface also in the direction of mouth opening12.

[0056] It should be noted that the device of the invention isparticularly suited to tasting champagne and sparkling wines whosepressure (on the order of 2.5 to 5 kg) is much greater than the pressureof other semi-sparkling beverages, such as sodas or beer, whichgenerally does not exceed 1 kg.

1. A drinking cup which allows a beverage to be consumed directly from acontainer holding it, this cup (1) being intended to be fitted in aremovable manner on said container (B), and forming a hollow bodypenetrated by beverage inlet (10) centered on axis (X), air inlet (11),and mouth opening (12), this hollow body having wall (2) with annularcross section surrounding axis (X) and closing wall (3) connected towall (2) with annular cross section obliquely with respect to axis (X)air inlet (11) and mouth opening (12) being respectively relatively nearand relatively far from beverage inlet (10) in an axial direction (D)and at least one of air inlet (11) and mouth opening (12) beingcontiguous to wall (2) with annular cross section and to closing wall(3), characterized by the fact that wall (2) with annular cross sectionis a wall of revolution which flares out some distance from beverageinlet (10), and by the fact that mid-plane (P) joining air inlet (11) tomouth opening (12) forms with axis (X) an angle (A) which is at most 60degrees.
 2. A drinking cup according to claim 1, characterized by thefact that air inlet (11) and mouth opening (12) are both contiguous towall (2) with annular cross section and to closing wall (3).
 3. Adrinking cup according to either of the preceding claims, characterizedby the fact that air inlet (11) is formed by a slat made in closing wall(3).
 4. A drinking cup according to claim 3, characterized by the factthat the slat forming air inlet (11) is curved and has a concavityfacing away from axis (X).
 5. A drinking cup according to either of thepreceding claims, characterized by the fact that mouth opening (12) isformed by a slat made in closing wall (3).
 6. A drinking cup accordingto claim 5, characterized by the fact that the slat forming mouthopening (12) is curved and has a concavity facing away from axis (X). 7.A drinking cup according to any one of the preceding claims,characterized by the fact that closing wall (3) has a concavity facingaway from beverage inlet (10).
 8. A drinking cup according to any one ofthe preceding claims, characterized by the fact that angle (A) formed bymid-plane (P) joining air inlet (11) with mouth opening (12) is between30 and 60 degrees, and is preferably 50 degrees.
 9. A drinking cupaccording to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the factthat wall (2) with annular cross section has a flaring out whichdecreases with increasing distance from beverage inlet (10).
 10. Adrinking cup according to claim 9, characterized by the fact that theflaring out of wall (2) with annular cross section is followed by anarrowing.
 11. A drinking cup according to any one of the precedingclaims, characterized by the fact that it is produced at least partiallyout of a flexible material, which can be fitted onto container (B) in asealed manner.
 12. Application of the drinking cup according to any oneof the preceding claims to the consumption of a beverage in bottle (B),in particular champagne, with beverage inlet (10) fitted onto neck (G)of bottle (B).